Sixteen Kingdoms
Non-Han rulers governed northern China before reunification by the Northern Wei.
The Sixteen Kingdoms, also known as the Sixteen States, was a period of political fragmentation in northern China lasting from 304 to 439 CE. It began after the Jin dynasty, which had ruled a unified China, lost control of its northern territories. Rebellions led by non-Han peoples—specifically the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Di, Jie, and Qiang—overthrew the Western Jin capital at Luoyang in 311 and Chang’an in 316, forcing the Jin court to retreat south of the Yangtze River and reestablish itself as the Eastern Jin dynasty at Jiankang (modern Nanjing). Many of these rebel groups, such as the Xiongnu in Shanxi and the Di in Guanzhong, had lived within China for generations and were highly sinicized, while others, like the Tuoba and Murong Xianbei, migrated from the periphery into the Central Plains later on. All the states they founded adopted Han-style dynastic names and most claimed the Mandate of Heaven to rule all of China, though they frequently warred with one another and with the Eastern Jin.
The kingdoms were generally short-lived due to intense competition and internal instability. For a brief period from 376 to 383, the Former Qin unified northern China and Sichuan, but its attempt to conquer the south was defeated by the Eastern Jin at the Battle of Fei River. This defeat caused the Former Qin to splinter, leading to even greater fragmentation, with as many as nine states coexisting in the north by 400. The era ended in 439 when the Northern Wei, founded by the Xianbei Tuoba clan, reunified northern China, ushering in the Northern Dynasties period.
This was the first time in imperial Chinese history that non-Han rulers governed a large portion of the Chinese heartland and styled themselves as Emperors of China. Each kingdom was multi-ethnic, and its rulers were sinicized to varying degrees, blending Han and non-Han institutions and customs in their governance. The challenges they faced—managing Han and non-Han populations, deciding how much to adopt Chinese culture, and redefining Chinese identity—persisted through the later Northern and Southern Dynasties and influenced the more inclusive, cosmopolitan Sui and Tang dynasties. The fall of the Western Jin amid non-Han invasions has been compared to the contemporaneous fall of the Western Roman Empire, but unlike Rome, China eventually reunified by integrating these groups into its society.
- Period
- 304–439
- Location
- Northern China
- Major States
- Five Liangs, Four Yans, Three Qins, Two Zhaos, Cheng-Han, Xia
- Founding Peoples
- Xiongnu, Xianbei, Di, Jie, Qiang
- Ended By
- Northern Wei (Tuoba Xianbei)
- Key Event
- Battle of Fei River (383)
Lore & Background
The Sixteen Kingdoms period began in 304 when Li Xiong, a Ba-Di chieftain and refugee from Guanzhong, formally claimed the imperial title of King and formed the state of Cheng-Han in Sichuan. During the Jin civil wars, Liu Yuan, a noble from the Five Divisions and descendant of the Southern Xiongnu chanyu, rebelled in Shanxi and declared his intent to restore the fallen Han dynasty; his regime, later renamed Zhao, is designated as Han-Zhao (304–329). In 311, Liu Cong's forces annihilated the Jin imperial army and captured Luoyang along with Emperor Huai in the Disaster of Yongjia. In 316, Liu Yao seized Chang'an and Emperor Min, ending the Western Jin. From 376 to 383, the Former Qin unified all of northern and northwest China and Sichuan. The Former Qin's quest to conquer southern China was stopped by the Eastern Jin at the Battle of Fei River (in modern-day central Anhui), after which the Former Qin splintered and northern China experienced even greater political fragmentation, with as many as nine states co-existing in the north in 400.
Reader's Guide
The Sixteen Kingdoms period is significant as the first time in imperial Chinese history that non-Han rulers governed a large portion of the Chinese heartland and ruled as Emperor of China. Each kingdom was multi-ethnic in character, and rulers adopted diverse governance approaches drawing on different mixes of Han and non-Han institutions and customs. The challenges they faced—governing both Han and non-Han peoples, the degree to which they should adopt Chinese culture, and how they redefined what it meant to be Chinese—persisted through the subsequent Northern and Southern dynasties period, from which emerged the Sui and Tang dynasties with their more inclusive governance, multi-ethnic character and cosmopolitan culture. The fall of the Western Jin amidst the rise of non-Han regimes resembles the fall of the Western Roman Empire amidst invasions by the Huns and Germanic tribes, which also occurred in the 4th to 5th centuries. While the division of the Roman empire in 395 AD became permanent, China was able to reunify by integrating the barbarians from the Sixteen Kingdoms era into government and society. This dynamic of non-Chinese rulers adapting their rule to China would recur with the Liao, Jin (1115–1234), Yuan and Qing dynasties.
Did You Know?
- The term 'Sixteen Kingdoms' was first used by the 6th-century historian Cui Hong in the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms.
- For seven years from 376 to 383, the Former Qin unified all of northern and northwest China and Sichuan.
- As many as nine states co-existed in the north in 400 after the Former Qin splintered.
- The Sixteen Kingdoms period ended in 439 when the Northern Wei, established by the Xianbei Tuoba clan, unified northern China.
- The fall of the Western Jin in 316 ended with Liu Yao seizing Chang'an and Emperor Min.
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